Nag Tibba lies on the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas, North-East of Mussoorie. The peak is at an altitude of 3100m. It offers spectacular views of Mussoorie, Vikashnagar, the banderpoonch range and spurs created by the Yamuna river valley. NagTibba is a typical ridge peak on the NagTibba Range of the lower Himalayas. In fact, along with the Pir Punjal and Dhauladhar; the Nag Tibba range forms one of the 3 main ranges of the lower Himalayas. It is mentioned in the very famous book ‘7 years in Tibet’ which chronicles the escape of Hienrich Harrier from the British into Tibet. There is a temple dedicated to Nag Devta and the range owes its name to this temple. Snakes have always held an important status in the Hindu religion. According to Hindu mythology, snakes are considered as the representation of rebirth, death and mortality, due to its casting of the skin and being symbolically “reborn”. Since the days when religion and worship was a response to a way of life rather than a reason for existence; snakes have been given a cult status. In some places snake gods are associated with fertility. There are many snake god myths and iconographic symbols associated with them in the Hindu mythology like that of Sheshnag( Vishnu’s resting couch),ananatnag( the endless snake), Kaliya( Krishna’s dance),Vasuki (churning of the ocean), Padmanabha ( guardian snake especially in south India), Manasa devi( snake goddess) etc. For the villagers in this part of the mountains he is the protector of their cattle and sheep. Domesticated animals are their biggest assets and Nag Devta their protector.

We begin the day early from Dehradoon. This way we can avoid the traffic towards Mussoorie and Kamptee falls. Mussoorie is 22kms from Dehradoon and Kamptee falls another 17kms further. The road continues downhill from here towards the Yamuna river bed and reaches the town of Nainbagh. One road continues towards yamunotri while we take the narrower road which climbs uphill towards Pantwari village. This takes us behind the Mussoorie ridge and into shepherd territory. Gujjars with their domesticated sheep and goats are seen on hill tops. Terraced farms and hill slopes dotted with Bauhinia trees with their purple blossoms are a sight to photograph. These flowering trees are easily identified by their leaves which are in the shape of a camels’ foot. After an hour later we reach Pantwari village and begin our ascent to our camping site. With mules carrying the luggage one can enjoy the village setting and life. Women are seen working on the wheat and green pea fields. Men are mainly employed in government jobs in the plains or work as porters and guides. Our trekking trail rises beyond the farms and enters wild territory. Flowers and birds are plenty here. Most prominent flowers are white anemones (a flowering shrub) while among birds the jungle babbler, red vented bulbul, blue cheeked bulbul, hill myna, warblers and tits are common. We reach our camping ground by evening to enjoy the sunset over the hill spurs. The camping ground is flush with mint leaves which can be mixed to form a delightful brew of mint tea or the kandali shrub can be washed and cooked to form a tasty saag.

Day 02 : TREK FROM CAMPSITE TO NAGTIBBA TOP 6Kms AND BACK TO PANTWARI 9Kms. Drive back to Dehradoon.

We start the second day post breakfast and climb to the Nag Devta temple. It is an ill maintained temple premise with no pujari but the locals come here frequently to pay their obeisance. There is a vast open space near the temple which is often used as a grazing ground for sheep and goats. The Nag Tibba ridge rises further up and is another 2 hours hike ahead. There is a distinct change in vegetation from here. The forest become dense and is dominated by oaks and rhododendrons. The forest floor is also damp indicating the lack of sunlight reaching it. This is an ideal habitat for a variety for orchids (locally called kachanar) to grow. However with the pressure of grazing, lopping of oaks and trekking; this region is under anthropogenic pressure. A variety of birds like the niltava and flameback woodpecker are seen in the barks of oak trees. We follow the trail back to our campsite and after lunch head down to Pantwari village. The trek down is easy and fast and can be covered in a couple of hours. We then proceed onwards to Dehradoon by our transport.

Transport (from/to Dehradoon only) starting from pickup on day 1 to drop on day 2

Guide and cook fees

Rent for camping equipment

Forest entry charges

Porter and mule support for carrying camping gear only

All veg meals starting from day 1 snacks to day 2 lunch

Exclusions

Any hotel stay in Dehradoon or Mussorie

Transport to reach Dehradoon and back from Dehradoon

Personal expenses like tips, medicines, phone calls

Offloading personal luggage on mules is chargeable at 200 Rs per day per bag.

Any transport not mentioned above

No meals while travelling from Dehradoon to Pantwari and back from Pantwari.

Insurance

Essentials

Waterproof Rucksack

Comfortable Trekking Boots

One Raincoat

Windproof Jacket

2-3 T-shirt/Shirt

2 Trouser/Jeans

Woolen Cap

Woollen Gloves

Thermal Inner-wears

Warm Fleece

Tourch

Woolen Socks & Regular Socks

Water Bottle

Towel

Camera & Phone if you like (with full/Extra Batteries)

Identity Cards

Slippers

Specific Medication Medicine

Personal Toiletries

Weather
The climate is temperate and pleasant throughout the year except the winter months when the weather gets chilly. The higher reaches are covered with snow from January to March. The valley is prone to strong catabatic winds at night especially in the summer season.

MealsDay 1:

We will have breakfast on the way to Pantwari at Nainbagh.

Packed lunch will be provided at Pantwari before trek starts. Lunch will include sandwiches, juice, chocolate, one fruit.

Maggi and tea will be served when we reach the campsite.

In the evening, popcorn and soup will be served before dinner.

Early dinner will be served which will have rice, chapattis, one vegetable, dal, papad and dessert.

Day 2:

Early morning we will have breakfast of porridge, bread, butter, jam and tea.

Lunch will be provided when the group returns to camp: dal, vegetable, papad, rice, chapattis.